Zhenizhok is one of the most prominent akyns of the Kyrgyz people.
His real name was Ote; he lived and worked in the village of Aksy in what is now the Janay-Dzhol district.
Toktogul, Korgool, Eshmambet, Kalik, and other well-known akyns were students of Zhenizhok. According to legend, Zhenizhok could, for example, improvise for 7 days about akkan suu — flowing water — while describing strange animals living in the depths of the ocean (it is clear that the akyn was well acquainted with Arabic sources). When Toktogul, Togolok Moldoo, Barpy, and others spoke about Akkan Suu, it was at best a retelling heard from Zhenizhok. Wise sayings about nature, pronouncements, and poems of Zhenizhok have been preserved in the memory of the Kyrgyz and southern Kazakhs.
The folklore department of the Academy of Sciences of the Kirghiz SSR long collected the works of Zhenizhok from the people, and in 1982 they were published in a separate book.
The collection of his works among the population is still ongoing.
According to contemporaries, no one could defeat him in competitions among akyns. His poetry is characterized by wisdom and poetic quality.
The dynamism and interconnection of phenomena in nature were the subjects of his poetic and philosophical reflections. Some contemporary philosophers believe that the poet's works cannot be classified as philosophical. However, his works contain philosophical conclusions and a philosophical approach to questions about the Universe, various phenomena of nature, and the meaning of human life.
Zhenizhok personified the surrounding material world and the Universe in the image of life-giving nature. In his view, everything created by nature plays a specific role within it. There is nothing superfluous in nature, and everything corresponds to its time and place.
Zhenizhok knew the Quran by heart in its original language. In order to instill in people a high moral character, ethics, decency, and compassion for the sick, the elderly, and our lesser brothers, he often resorted to quotations from the sacred book in his works.
Kyrgyz people, like many other nations, revered the sky and associated their highest aesthetic ideals with the images of the Sun, Moon, and countless stars. Reflecting this in his works, Zhenizhok compares the beauty of the surrounding world with the beauty of celestial bodies:
The world created by the Almighty,
The sun is beautiful, the world
Like the light of the sun
Burning, the world
The Moon in the sky, the stars
The night is beautiful, the world
Like the morning star,
The world is wonderful,
Like a shooting star,
Burning brightly, the world.
As illuminating the Universe
The sun, the world is wonderful.
Like a sunbeam
Igniting, the world is wonderful.
Like the night moon, the stars,
The world is beautiful.
Like the pre-dawn Venus,
The world is remarkable.
Like a meteor fading in the night,
The world is wonderful.
Zhenizhok was particularly interested in the origin and development of celestial bodies in the Universe: “In this boundless Universe, tell me, how and from what are the Moon, Sun, stars, sky, Earth made?”
To these complex questions, the akyn does not provide an answer (it is also possible that his answers have not been preserved in the folk memory and have been forgotten).
The akyn wanted to understand why the stars and the Moon do not fall to Earth from the celestial vault
As is known, in the mid-17th century, philosopher Kant first proposed a scientific hypothesis about the origin of the Solar System from a cloud of cold particles that are in chaotic motion in the Universe, and in 1796 mathematician Laplace proposed the hypothesis of the formation of the Sun and planets from a rotating gas nebula. However, the most developed hypothesis is that of academician O. Yu. Schmidt about the emergence of planets from a gas-dust medium. All scientists have concluded that the Earth originated from a cold gas-dust mass. Heating due to radioactive elements led to the melting of the Earth's interior. Heavy elements diffused downwards, forming the core, while lighter ones formed the Earth's crust, and so on. According to the theory of English scientist Hoyle, the Sun at birth was a clump of gas-dust nebula. Thus, in contrast to religion, which attributes everything that happens to the will of God and asserts that the world is unknowable, science gradually comprehends the Universe, proving the possibility of unlimited knowledge of nature.
It is known that the history of the emergence of the concept of "Universe" is closely related to the history of the genesis of the concepts of "space" and "time" — two fundamental philosophical-cosmological categories. V. I. Lenin wrote that “there is nothing in the world except moving matter, and moving matter cannot move otherwise than in space and time.” The lines below show how the akyn understood space and time in their organic connection with movement, their objectivity and independence from human reason:
Between the earth and the sky,
Is there not a vast creation?
Time does not stop its wings
Is there not a blackness?
The golden light is shining,
Is it not the Moon that creates?
Shining stars
Is it not the Sun that creates?
Someone created the Moon
With golden rays.
He also created the beautiful
Dance of radiant stars.
The immeasurable distance
Between heaven and earth.
And time moves
With countless flaps
Of its wings.
The natural satellite of the Earth — the Moon does not emit light itself — it only reflects the rays of the Sun. However, ancient people thought that the Moon illuminated the night with its golden rays, and during the full moon, it shone brighter than the Sun.
Zhenizhok's interpretations are not scientific in nature, but his thoughts on the emergence and change of phenomena in the Universe at that time were progressive, as they prepared the ground for a materialistic understanding of nature.
Zhenizhok wanted to know why the rays of many stars in the sky are weaker than those of the Moon: “In the Universe, there is only the Moon and an infinite number of stars, why is the night dark when the Moon does not illuminate the Earth?”
The Moon, as is known from the course of astronomy, due to its gravitational pull, slows down the speed of the Earth's rotation around its axis, which contributes to the emergence and development of plant and animal life on Earth. The Sun is not only the source of light, heat, and life in the solar system but also the closest star to Earth that we see during the day. In the Universe, there are stars with diameters of 300-400 and masses 1000 times greater than our Sun, but they are at such a great distance that we only see them as stars at night. Moreover, many stars are so far from Earth that their rays are not visible from Earth not only to the naked eye but even through powerful telescopes. Stars located at colossal distances from Earth cannot illuminate the Earth at night like the Moon.
Zhenizhok could not understand that the Earth rotates around its axis, and the setting of the Sun and Moon is explained by the rotation of the Earth around its axis; he refers to the planet Venus as a star, although Venus, like other planets, does not emit rays but reflects solar ones.
The akyn wanted to understand why the stars and the Moon do not fall to Earth from the celestial vault and become invisible during the day. He could not find a correct answer to his questions, which can be explained by the limited worldview of people of that time: “So that the Moon and stars do not fall, the Almighty secured them in the sky.”
The mountains have crumbled, turned into steppes.
Steppes have turned into mountains.
The akyn viewed our planet not in isolation from celestial bodies (the Sun, Moon, stars, etc.) but in the same line with them, and this approach can be called spontaneously-materialistic.
The poet wrote:
From that day to this day,
The mountains have crumbled,
The salt has crumbled, the mountain has become.
Since that time to this day
The mountains have crumbled, turned into steppes.
Steppes have turned into mountains.
The poetic image contained in these lines of transforming time is based not on scientific knowledge of the planet's development, but it resonates very well with modern ideas about the dynamism of mountain-building processes. Geology as a science provides evidence that over hundreds of millions of years, plains or small elevations can form in place of high mountains.
Winds and rains, heat and cold destroy the solid layers of continents and turn them into small stones, sand into dust. This process occurs constantly. Calculations have shown that every year, a layer of soil 0.8-1 mm thick is carried away from the surface of the continent into the depths of the seas. A high mountain (with a height of 9000 m above sea level), which has ceased to grow, turns into a plain over 9 million years. The well-known Ural Mountains are gradually approaching such a state, exposing their depths rich in minerals.
It has been proven that tidal movements of not only seas and oceans but also the solid surface of the land depend on the gravitational pull of the Sun and especially the Moon, which is located close to Earth. The height of sea tides can reach 18 meters. At the equator, the height of the uplifted surface of the land reaches half a meter. Zhenizhok, who could hardly have known about lunar and solar tides, describes changes in the Earth's surface associated with the formation of folds and depressions. The study and observation of high mountains on continents and at the bottom of oceans have proven that their origin is the result of the ongoing movement of the Earth and its crust. For example, territories where the Netherlands and Venice are located are constantly sinking, while territories where Finland and Sweden are located are gradually rising. The age of the Ala-Too ridge in the Tian Shan is only 30 million years, while the Kyndyk-Tas mountains in Kazakhstan are only one million years old — they are young and will continue to grow.
Zhenizhok was concerned about the longevity of living organisms on Earth
In his works, Zhenizhok pays great attention to the various properties of phenomena and objects in the surrounding world: whether they are soft or hard, living or dead, hot or cold, beautiful or ugly. He says:
To the world, you created countless
Species in the Universe.
It is known that living organisms form two large worlds: the plant and animal worlds. Each of these worlds consists of types, classes, orders, families, genera, and species. The beginnings of such classification can be traced in the following lines of Zhenizhok:
Except for winged creatures,
You gave milk to the world.
World, you gave milk to all,
Except for winged birds.
Interestingly, in nature, many representatives of the animal world lay eggs: turtles, snakes, crocodiles, etc. They do not incubate them like birds. The eggs go through the incubation period in warm sand. But among birds, there are also those that do not build nests and do not carry food to their chicks. They are called "bush turkeys" (which include 10 species from 7 genera), and they inhabit the Southern Hemisphere. These birds resemble turkeys. They bury their eggs in compost, in heaps of garbage. The incubation period lasts 60 days. The chicks that hatch from the eggs run into the forest and fly away that very evening. In Australia and Tasmania, there is the platypus. It incubates its one or two eggs in a burrow and feeds its young with milk. It swims well and dives in water, feeding on small aquatic organisms.
Thus, among mammals, there are species that, like birds, lay eggs and incubate chicks, while feeding their young with milk.
Zhenizhok asserts that the animal world is interconnected with the surrounding environment and changes in accordance with it. He understood that the inability of animals to adapt to changes in the environment would lead to disastrous consequences for them:
World, you created the Magpie, which is very sensitive (cunning). World, you raised the juniper (archu) on dry Earth.
The magpie is a very sensitive and cunning bird. It adapts quickly to a new place. During a powerful avalanche in the mountains, no living soul can escape in its path. However, the magpie survives: thanks to its strong and long tail, it flies vertically up for several meters before transitioning to horizontal flight.
Zhenizhok was also concerned about the longevity of living organisms on Earth.
The juniper is a long-lived tree (its average lifespan is 500-600 years). The resilience of the juniper is remarkable: it grows in inaccessible mountainous areas, neither winds nor scorching heat and drought can harm it. Other plants grow under the protection of the juniper.
Juniper forests protect the slopes of mountains from erosion. It has been established that one hectare of juniper forest can emit enough phytoncides to kill harmful microbes above a large city. The Kyrgyz have long used juniper: it served as material for making furniture (cradles, doors of yurts, chests, etc.), and bridges were made from this wood.
Zhenizhok accurately describes the natural mechanism of nature:
Without increasing the number of some creatures,
You regulate, nature.
The number of living beings
You regulate, nature.
Perhaps this conclusion was made from his own observations of catastrophic outbreaks in the populations of mice, locusts, and others.
The combined action of natural factors, such as diseases, hunger, natural disasters, restored the disrupted balance, preventing one species from displacing another.
People knew that besides earthquakes, downpours, mudslides, and years of famine and poor harvests, other disasters could arise. For example: the invasion of yellow locusts, which covered the land like a black cloud, destroying green plants and grain harvests. According to the stories of the elders, in the 1910s-1920s, these voracious insects destroyed the crops of farmers and pastures. According to Kartanbay (born in 1897) and Musuraly (born in 1901) from the village of Kichi-Kemin, there were years when swarms of locusts, lacking green areas, attacked sheep, horses, and devoured the wool of rams and the tails of horses... Knowing this, nomads during such invasions first saved their animals by driving them far into the mountains.
In the territory of Kyrgyzstan, there were so-called Asian and Moroccan locusts. Like locusts in Africa and Arabia, they multiply rapidly under favorable climatic conditions and become a scourge of greenery. It is clear that this is what Zhenizhok meant when he wrote:
Sometimes, when the number of creatures increases
You suffer losses, nature.
Sometimes, with a sharp increase in insects,
You suffer losses, nature.
The third type of locust found in our region is the oasis locust. Recently, this type has often been observed in the Tian Shan (around Naryn) and sometimes in the Issyk-Kul basin.
Climatic factors have a significant impact on the animal and plant world
Deserts appear as part of the natural process of nature's development, their existence is linked to geographical zonality and certain regional processes.
Excessive dryness of the air and lack of water lead to the extinction of animals. The main factor affecting life in the desert is the Sun. For example, if a lizard, a typical inhabitant of the desert, is pulled from its burrow and held in the sun for a certain time, it will die from the intense heat and high insolation.
Various species of locusts, termites, beetles, etc., play a significant role not only in the zonal biogenic process but also in the life of the biological community.
In nature, everything is harmoniously and lawfully interconnected: all species of animals and plants live and reproduce in optimal conditions and natural environments. The akyn reflected this in the following lines:
The ducks, all the geese
Are not made by hand
Like the wild goats,
Are not made by hand.
Ducks and geese —
Inhabitants of lakes.
Wild ruminants — the wild goats —
Live on the mountain tops, etc.
The correct understanding of the law of balance in nature is evidenced by such lines:
There is nothing unnecessary anywhere
That created swamps, nature.
There is nothing unnecessary in the world.
Even swamps are created by nature.
Natural formations — swamps — are sources of fuel (peat, shale, etc.) and organic fertilizers; but their role in nature is not limited to this. They are an important link in preserving balance in nature, a kind of filter for biological purification of water flowing from large areas, watersheds: they contribute to the even distribution of runoff throughout the year.
Swamps grow rare medicinal plants, and wild animals and birds inhabit them.
Currently, in the European part of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Estonia, large swamps are being accounted for: they are studied by scientists, the time of their formation, volume of water, ichthyofauna and endemic fauna, flora, etc., are analyzed, they are given passports, and efforts are made to preserve them as they were created by nature.
The akyn correctly understood one of the main laws of dialectics — the law of the unity and struggle of opposites. He understood opposites not only as mutually exclusive but also as mutually complementary forces, internal interconnections, and tendencies. Their internal indivisibility constitutes the organic unity of opposites inherent in all things and phenomena.
Nothing eternal exists in the world, the poet believed. Stars in the sky, living organisms, everything existing in the Universe is in motion and change:
If one burns, it will be—
The world is standing
If one strengthens again
The world is filling.
If one ignites in the world —
Another extinguishes.
If one decreases in the world
Another increases.
Of course, interpreting these excerpts as a poetic statement of the fundamental laws of conservation of matter and energy would be inappropriate; nevertheless, they illustrate them quite accurately. But the very idea of the indestructibility of matter and energy had a powerful appeal for Zhenizhok (who was inclined to natural philosophical generalizations). It can be argued that the creativity of the akyn represents the dissemination of naively-materialistic views among the people, among whom scientific activity had not yet emerged as a distinct sphere of spiritual activity.
Zhenizhok, carefully and thoroughly observing changes in nature, using knowledge and observations passed down from ancestors from generation to generation, tried to understand its phenomena, thus forming a naively-materialistic approach to nature. However, not all of the akyn's views on nature were correct; they did not always correspond to reality. In the akyn's work, reality and the realm of expressive poetic images of fantasy are very closely intertwined. The undeniable merit of Zhenizhok is that he managed to present a generally accurate picture of reality in his poetry, opposing mystical-religious representations of the surrounding world.
The most successful images of his poems represent a peculiar blend of spontaneous striving for naive dialectics with the keen observation of a nomad and the gift of poetic generalization. This is what gives Zhenizhok's poetry its special appeal.
CONCLUSION.
The Great October Socialist Revolution opened unprecedented opportunities for the Kyrgyz people, as well as for other peoples of our country, for social, economic, and cultural development. Over the past decades, they have largely been realized. A little more than seventy years ago, the fate of the Kyrgyz was oppression, ignorance, and almost complete isolation from the greatest achievements of modern civilization. Now the Kyrgyz people have not only embraced the achievements of world culture but also contribute significantly to its development. Modern Kyrgyzstan is a republic with developed industry, highly productive agriculture, and successful development of sciences and arts.
During the Soviet era, more than ever before, targeted and large-scale activities were carried out to preserve the rich spiritual heritage of the Kyrgyz, documenting all the diverse manifestations of the people's spiritual culture.
Not all monuments of the Kyrgyz people are equal in artistic level, content, and form, but collectively they reflect the complex spiritual life of the people, its development with all its contradictions.
In the knowledge of nature, the folk poets-akyns (Toktogul, Togolok Moldoo, Barpy, Zhenizhok, and others) saw ethical and aesthetic value, and in their works, they reflected the people's ideas about natural phenomena in a concentrated form.
The best works of oral folk art still serve to cultivate positive personal qualities: diligence, curiosity, perseverance, mutual assistance, patriotism, and others. In addition, they provide completely unique materials for analyzing the relationship between labor activity and knowledge at the pre-scientific stage of development. This stage has been traversed by many peoples, but there is not enough comprehensive information about it, and therefore it is very important for the science of human knowledge to preserve all available data. After all, witnesses of that past, which has irretrievably gone, are still alive, and the grandeur of post-revolutionary transformations in Kyrgyz land can only be understood through a deep and comprehensive comparison with information characterizing the pre-revolutionary life of the Kyrgyz.
The analysis of their pre-scientific knowledge allows us to speak of its spontaneously-materialistic foundation, of the people's ability to accumulate, borrow from other peoples, and pass knowledge from generation to generation. As academician E. P. Pavlovsky rightly noted, “...the works of oral folk art... rise to the height of sources that testify to the achievements of popular observation and everyday experience, which are the first seeds of knowledge about the surrounding world in the pre-literate period of cultural development... Here is where we should look for the elements of knowledge that later became the seeds, the roots of the development of science.”
The study of pre-scientific knowledge also allows us to understand many mechanisms of functioning of everyday knowledge, which exists even today alongside scientific knowledge. Many elements of pre-scientific knowledge have entered everyday knowledge, and analyzing their forms can suggest ways to popularize scientific knowledge that best correspond to the peculiarities of human perception.
The study of pre-scientific knowledge shows how closely the fates of peoples are intertwined, how positive experiences gained in one place and at one time become useful in another place and at another time, i.e., it is a peculiar form of embodying the unity of peoples, which has become a guiding principle of life in our socialist society.